General Literature.
London Dead, and other Verses. C. Kennett Burrow.
1s. net.
The Lost Water, and other Poems. Mrs. I. K. Lloyd.
1s. net.
Two more important additions to The Contemporary Poets Series.
From a Hertfordshire Cottage. W. Beach Thomas.
3s. 6d.
A collection of Essays by this well-known “nature” writer. Should not be missed by the owner of even the most modest library of country life.
With the M.C.C. in Australia. Major Philip Trevor.
1s. net.
When the M.C.C. team left for Australia there were many sanguine people who prophesied that the deplorable withdrawals of well-known players notwithstanding, the Colonials would have to look after their laurels in the Test Matches. Unfortunately, in this case, optimism was misplaced, and the champions of the Northern Country are returning defeated but by no means disgraced. Previously to his departure as manager of the tour, Major Philip Trevor had promised to write an account of all that happened, and Mr. Alston Rivers has now issued the book at a popular price. Major Trevor is not only a consummate judge of all that concerns cricket, but is an exceptionally acute observer of all that goes on outside the actual game and, though it is to be regretted that he has not brilliant victories to record, his account of the Englishmen’s Antipodean experiences are sure to be extremely interesting.
G. K. C. Anon.
5s.
To the uninitiated it must be explained that the title is composed of the three letters with which the Christian names and surname of Mr. Gilbert Chesterton commence, forming a nom de guerre of the first importance in literary circles. Everybody knows how delightful a humour is Mr. Chesterton’s, and probably no one will enjoy the sallies of his anonymous critic more than he himself. Perhaps, however, “critic” is hardly the word for the author of “G. K. C.”; he is rather a jester whose irrepressible hilarity is favoured by a fortunate choice of his subject.
The Spirit of Parliament. Duncan Schwann, M.P.
3s. 6d. net.
“A great deal of the very delightful reading in this little book must, of course, be attributed to the always picturesque and lively style of the writer, who probably has as keen an appreciation of the historical traditions of Parliament as he has of its everyday work of debate and occasional law-making.... A delightful volume, and no one need be politically inclined to thoroughly enjoy it.”—Daily Graphic.
“Not only gives us a picture of the House that is vivid and graphic in itself, but also, and in part unconsciously, a plainly genuine account of its psychological effect upon its own members, especially as experienced by the newcomers in 1906. It is here that Mr. Schwann is at his best.”—Morning Leader.
“Mr. Schwann has written a volume which will enhance a most promising reputation. He has literary grace and charm; he thinks; he is an idealist; he is a choice scholar; and he has a saving grace of humour.”—Manchester City News.
“There is no finer passage in Mr. Schwann’s book than that in which he describes with vivid realistic power, but without mentioning names, the gathering passion engendered by a great debate.”—Liverpool Daily Post.
“What is the spirit of Parliament? That is the question which Mr. Duncan Schwann, M.P., worthy son of a worthy father, sets out to answer in a book of singular grace and charm.... No looker-on can quite realise the actual stress and storm of the struggle itself—the ridiculous vehemence of feeling, the absurd agony of soul, which must often rack the actors in some great Parliamentary debate. Mr. Duncan Schwann gives us some idea of it.”—Daily Chronicle.
“It is a pleasant, talky book, which freshly re-echoes the solemn reverberation of Big Ben.”—Scotsman.
The Search for the Western Sea. Lawrence J. Burpee.
16s. net.
The Scotsman says: “In preparing this volume of six hundred pages he has gone to original sources for his information, and this has entailed much trouble and research. The result is satisfactory. A clear and consecutive picture is afforded of a work of discovery, prosecuted during more than two centuries by men of French and British blood.”
The Daily Mail says: “The story of the long search for the Western Sea, and of the brave and hardy men who conducted it, is well told by Mr. Lawrence J. Burpee in the big book he has written. The volume is of great interest, not only to the geographer, but to anyone who likes to read of true adventures.”
The Publisher’s Circular says: “Original documents form the basis of this remarkable and important work, and in chief those preserved in the Canadian Archives at Ottawa. A satisfactory survey of the exploration of N.W. America has not really existed until the publication of this book. This story is full of human interest.... The illustrations are good, so also the maps, the index, and the valuable bibliography of works dealing with the exploration of N.W. America—altogether the book is a model.”
Psyche. Illustrated.
3s. 6d.
Louis Couperus is a Dutch author, and he has written the most delightful work entitled “Psyche.” Such a literary gem baffles description, for there has never been a book quite like it. The ennobling qualities of “Psyche” should assuredly not be overlooked by clergymen, schoolmasters and others whose concern it is, in a materialistic age, to guide youth into the proper paths; for behind the graceful imagery of “Psyche” is a moral which no sermon which was ever written could convey. Mr. Alston Rivers is publishing the work, translated by the Rev. B. S. Berrington, and illustrated by Dion Clayton Calthrop, towards the end of July.
The Citizen Books. Edited by W. Beach Thomas.
1s. net each.
The first of the Citizen Books series was “To-day in Greater Britain,” and every review that has appeared so far has been enthusiastic in praise of its lucidity and sound sense. Following up this success, a second volume, to be quickly followed by more, has just been published. It is entitled “The Face of England,” and the author, Mr. A. K. Collett, has thoroughly entered into the spirit of the series which is intended to supply “guide-books to the present.” The scope of this useful little book can best be gauged by the titles of the eleven chapters: The Outline of Britain; The Surface of Britain; The Rainfall and the Rocks; Soil and Industries; Agriculture; Moors, Fens and Forests; Climate; Roads, Canals and Railways; Tides and Harbours; Sea Routes and Fisheries; Landscape and Language.
The whole series is planned with a view to use in schools, the information being conveyed in the plainest way possible, and extreme care being taken to make the matter readable; the books themselves are strongly bound in cloth, and the price, one shilling each, is decidedly moderate.
Though, of course, polemical matter could hardly be introduced into “The Face of England” (though it is wonderful how it can insinuate itself), there are other volumes such as “The Civic Life” (to be published shortly) where the greatest care has to be exercised. That no political bias of any kind will be introduced should be vouched for by the editorship of the series being in the experienced hands of Mr. W. Beach Thomas.
The New Transvaal. Miss M. C. Bruce.
Cloth, 1s. 6d. net. Paper, 1s. net.
“One of the best books on South Africa we have had for a long time. It is priced at a shilling only, but it has more stuffing in it than half the pretentious expensive books which have been manufactured about the sub-Continent. The authoress is one who knows. That is apparent on every page. The book is full of common sense ... we congratulate Miss Bruce on her clever work.”
This is what “South Africa” has to say about a little book, which Mr. Alston Rivers has just published, written by Miss M. C. Bruce and entitled “The New Transvaal.” It was high time that the ignorance and apathy of the English at home as to South Africa was dispelled, and only quite recently certain revelations have shed further light on the subject. Without being by any means a partisan, Miss Bruce has much to say about the Chinese Labour question; she speaks from her own personal observation. Her descriptions of the country and methods of life are extraordinarily interesting.
Though “The New Transvaal” is published in paper covers at one shilling net, it is obtainable at eighteenpence, tastefully bound in cloth.
Water: Its Origin and Use. W. Coles-Finch, Engineer of the Chatham Waterworks.
21s. net.
Mr. Coles Finch’s book should prove to be the standard popular work on the element with which it deals. Though written by an expert, “Water: Its Origin and Use,” is not a purely scientific book; it is, as the author remarks in his Preface, “simply an ordinary person’s interpretation of what he sees in Nature and represents his best efforts to describe the same.”
How successful have been these efforts is attested by the warm eulogies of many eminent scientists to whom advance copies have been submitted.
An attractive volume, embellished by many beautiful illustrations, including Alpine scenes from photographs taken by Mrs. Aubrey le Blond, who has achieved wide renown in this branch of art.
France in the Twentieth Century. By the Author of “Engines of Social Progress,” W. L. George.
6s. net.
Mr. George, whose previous work was extremely well received, has undertaken a somewhat ambitious task, but the appearance of a book on modern France is most timely, and, even if less skilfully treated, a work of the kind would attract wide attention. “France in the Twentieth Century,” however, is certain to prove much more than a book of the passing hour, for not only is it intelligently written, but it shows a thorough grasp of the subject. Every chapter is of value, and the fact that the author was educated in France, and actually served his time in the French Army, gives additional interest to a handsome volume.
Goethe’s “Faust” Translated in Verse. Sir George Buchanan, C.B., K.C.V.O.
Post 8vo, cloth, gilt, 2s. 6d. net, Leather, 3s. 6d. net.
The Diplomatic Service, exacting though its duties may be, gives opportunities of a study of European literature that rarely falls to others. Though there have been other translations of “Faust” in prose or verse, Sir George Buchanan’s rendering shows fine insight, and such an appreciation of the German poet’s ideas as few scholars evince. Only the first part of Goethe’s masterpiece is translated, the second part being described in a note by the author.